Does it really matter how many fans you have on Facebook or followers on Twitter? Of course it does! Assuming one of your goals is to build authority in your industry or establish your expertise, you just can’t do that if only 26 people are listening to what you say.
But here is the key: if you have the “right” 26 people listening to you, and you are nurturing those relationships and, in turn, listening to what they are saying, you will likely be successful in building strong connections that will benefit and help you grow your core business.
Recognize who is following you for the right or wrong reasons. Maybe someone is just hoping you will follow them back and build up their follower count. Maybe their initial connection with you was more random than intentional. If you look through your list of followers or fans and don’t really know who most of them are or why they are appearing on the list, then you are likely not building a network that is heading in the right direction.
Here is a quick and simple exercise: pick out five people on your follower/fan list who you don’t know. Contact them directly – heck, you might even want to call them up – and find out why they are following you. Find out what kind of value they are looking for from your communication. And find out the cold, hard truth if they really care what you have to say.
Followers are just a number. Listeners are people who care about what you have to share and are likely going to share about it with others. The listeners are the relationships you want to cultivate. Go to it!
